Page 33 of Soul of Shadow #1
The homecoming game descended upon Silver Shores High with all of its usual fanfare.
When they arrived at school, various clubs had gathered out front, handing out flyers or advertising performances happening later that fall.
The cheerleading squad turned cartwheels and back handsprings on the lawn.
Much to Charlie’s surprise, a group of creatures that appeared to be made of sticks were running along beside the cheerleaders, mimicking their tricks; no one appeared to see them.
Above the school’s front entrance was a huge banner that read, GO SNOW FOXES!
“What a ridiculous mascot,” said Abigail as they headed for the front doors. “Back in New York—”
“Yes, yes,” said Lou. “Back in New York, your school was the panthers or the eagles or something equally superior.”
Abigail scowled.
After lunch, there was a pep rally in the gymnasium and the dance team and marching band performed.
Charlie tried to pay attention, but the v?tte kept slipping out of her backpack and teetering down the bleachers, wanting to join the merriment.
Several times, Charlie had to pretend to drop her phone on the ground so she could grab him .
“Christ,” said Lou after her fourth drop. “Don’t let this girl onto the baseball team.”
After school, they drove to Charlie’s house and got ready for the game together, wrapping themselves in various outfits featuring their school’s colors. Once they were changed, a knock sounded on the door. Mason didn’t wait for an answer before barging inside.
“Ladies,” he announced, pulling the red scarf from Lou’s neck and wrapping it around his own. “What time are we leaving?”
“We?” Charlie asked.
“Of course,” her brother said. “ You , my dear sister, are driving so that the rest of us…” He reached into the bag dangling from his arm and pulled out a handle of vodka. “Can do this .”
“Just you and us?” Lou asked, skeptical.
“Oh, and one more.” Mason turned over his shoulder. “Elias, come on in.”
Charlie quickly turned away from the door. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was there; after all, they planned to sneak off from the game together. She just hadn’t expected to see him yet.
“Greetings.”
When she turned back around, she saw that Elias was leaning casually against the bedroom doorway. He was dressed in dark jeans and a leather jacket, no school spirit in sight. His greeting was for the whole room, but he was staring straight at her. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away.
Lou walked over to Mason and grabbed the vodka out of his hand. “Where’d you get this? ”
“The local alcohol store.” He pulled out his wallet and flipped it open, waving an unfamiliar ID in her face. “Today, I’m Matthew Gibbons, not Mason Hudson.”
“You used a fake ID ?” Abigail asked. “You could get arrested for that, you know.”
“And you could get arrested for drinking it,” Lou said, pushing the bottle into her hands. “Which is why you’re going to go first.”
“Me next,” said Elias, pushing himself off the doorframe and walking closer to the group, stopping right next to Charlie.
“Are you kidding?” Charlie hissed to him as the rest of them crowded around the alcohol. “We have a mission to carry out tonight.”
Elias winked. “Nothing a light buzz can’t improve.”
Charlie gaped at him. “Are you out of your mind?”
Elias flapped a carefree hand. “It’s homecoming weekend. That stuff can wait until Monday.”
“What happened to I’ll show you tomorrow ? There are kids’ lives at stake here.”
“And my Friday night is at stake if you don’t get on board.” He tweaked her nose with two fingers. “Besides, if anything seriously bad goes down, I can shift into shadow form. No blood alcohol content that way. Instant sobriety.”
“How convenient,” Charlie muttered.
Elias winked again, then turned to Mason, raising his voice. “Pass me that handle.”
The stands of Silver Shores High School’s football field were packed. It felt as if the whole town had turned out for the homecoming game—which wouldn’t be a surprise, given that half of the people who grew up in Silver Shores moved back there after college. Local pride ran deep.
After Charlie parked the Bronco, their group piled out into the parking lot. The vodka had clearly kicked in; Abigail and Lou had sung loudly and off-key to Ed Sheeran the whole ride over. Now, they linked arms with Mason and marched up the pavement, hollering school cheers into the night.
It was just them. Charlie had forced the v?tte to stay home. “It’s not safe,” she’d whispered to him in the bathroom before they left. “Elias and I might need to go into the woods, and I don’t want you to risk getting hurt.”
Somehow, even though she could see neither his eyes nor his mouth, she knew he was pouting.
Now, Charlie hung back, grabbing Elias’s elbow.
“Listen,” she said as he turned around, raising his eyebrows. “We’ve gotta keep up this dating ruse, okay? At least for a little bit longer.”
He saluted her. “Understood, Captain.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, looping his arm over her shoulders the way he had done in the cafeteria. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Just can’t get enough of me, eh?”
“Grow up,” she whispered back, but he only pulled her closer.
Before long, they came to the stands. They stopped at the bottom, scanning the bleachers for their friends.
Charlie located them quickly—three-quarters of the way up the furthest aisle on the right, Abigail leading the way—but not quickly enough.
Standing alone at the bottom of the bleachers was like being onstage in the school auditorium; her classmates had spotted them and were already whispering to each other, clearly still in disbelief that, of all the girls in school, Elias had chosen Charlie .
“Let’s go,” Charlie muttered, nudging Elias toward the far-right aisle.
As they climbed the rickety metal stairs, the crowd’s eyes followed them. Charlie ducked her head, praying no one would see the bright flush on her cheeks.
After a small eternity, they arrived at the row their friends had chosen.
When Charlie looked up, she found Abigail and Lou grinning from ear to ear, while Mason stared in obvious surprise.
Elias let go of Charlie’s shoulder and took her hand, pulling her down the row to the open spaces beside her brother.
She sat beside Mason, while Elias sat on the end.
“You’ve caused quite the stir, sis,” said Mason, nodding to the rest of the crowd, which was still whispering, occasionally even glancing over their shoulders at where Charlie and Elias now sat. He grinned. “How does it feel being the hottest piece of gossip in Silver Shores?”
“Like being a monkey on display at the zoo,” she grumbled, shifting on the bleachers.
“Oh, come on, now.” Elias threw his arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side and matching Mason’s grin. “Don’t tell me you aren’t having at least some fun stealing your brother’s spotlight for once.”
“Hmm…” Charlie tapped her chin. “When you put it that way…”
“Watch it, Everhart,” said Mason, pointing menacingly. “You and my sister might be an item now, but never forget who was your friend first.”
Elias held his free hand to his heart. “I could never.”
“Good.” Mason nodded sternly, then turned back to watch the football game .
Her brother might be acting annoyed, but Charlie wasn’t fooled. She didn’t miss the glitter in his eyes, the smile that pulled at his lips. As if he was secretly glad to have his little sister around to rib at him. As if he was just glad to have her around at all.